Eagles need to find their heart during the bye

Three wins and three losses.

The Eagles should have a better record than that considering they held leads of 9 points and 14 points against the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, respectively. Heck, if they could have scored on any of those four runs from the 1 yard line against the Chicago Bears, they could be 6-0 heading into the bye week.

But alas, as the great Bill Parcells once yelled, “You are what your record says you are,” and these Eagles are 3-3, and sitting at the bottom of the NFC East.

So heading into the bye week what do we know about this team, which I think has yet to play its best football?

At this point, the Eagles’ offense has yet to play with a full hand. Westbrook has been in and out of the lineup, Kevin Curtis hasn’t stepped on the field, and Reggie Brown has essentially missed four games. Shawn Andrews, who when happy is one of the best guards in the NFL, has missed several games as well.

Despite all of those key injuries, Donovan McNabb is having another stellar season, tossing eight touchdowns and posting a 93.2 quarterback rating. If McNabb can do this well without Curtis and Brown, imagine what he’ll be able to do when they are lining up out wide with DeSean Jackson.

On defense, the Eagles haven’t being playing with heart, at least not until the end of the 49ers game. In that game, the defense gave up negative-6 yards in the fourth quarter, and forced three turnovers in the process, essentially saving the season, or at least delaying the coffin lid closing.

So what does this all mean for the Eagles? Hopefully, after the bye week, the Birds will have all of their weapons on the field at the same time and can gain momentum for the Giants game on Nov. 9 by picking on the Falcons and the Seahawks in their next two battles.Whether everyone is healthy or not, the Eagles need to start playing with heart, or else they are essentially the New York Mets—a lot of talent, but no heart. And those two qualities add up to no postseason.

Revised predictions for the division:

Giants 11-5: They have played very well so far this season, but their remaining schedule doesn’t include any cupcakes like the Rams, Seahawks, or Bengals, which have accounted for three of their four wins. Also, Eli Manning is still bound to have those bad games, such as tossing three interceptions against the lowly Browns.

Eagles 10-6: The Eagles have several easy games after the bye week, and should be healthy by the time they hit the toughest part of their schedule in mid-November.

Cowboys 9-7: Things were starting to go south with Terrell Owens complaining and Pacman Jones fighting people in the bathroom, but with Tony Romo out with a broken pinky, and Felix Jones out for a few weeks with bad hamstring, things could get downright ugly in Big D.

Redskins 9-7: The Skins aren’t as bad as I thought they would be, and a healthy Clinton Portis can win a game all by himself, but this team is still a year or two away from being a major player in the division.

Quick thoughts:

* Back in August, I wrote that the Eagles might finally be willing to use Hank Baskett’s 6-4 frame inside the red zone. After numerous failures around the goal line, Andy Reid finally called for a jump ball in the end zone and Baskett came down with it. Of course, he came down with it! He’s got six inches on the cornerback covering him, and he was a high jumper in college! It’s almost as if we find a strength on our team, or a weakness on the other team, and think it is unfair to exploit it.

* How huge for the Eagles were the last second wins by the Rams and the Cardinals on Sunday? When the Eagles trailed the 49ers, 26-17, the Eagles were looking at a three-game deficit to the Redskins and the Cowboys, but instead are now just one game behind each team.

* Why aren’t the Eagles playing more press coverage? I watched a 3rd-and-6 from the Eagles 11, and everyone knew that a quick slant route was coming, but Asante Samuel played off of the wide receiver, and even backpedaled after the snap. Blitzes don’t work if the quarterback can make quick throws, so why allow the wide receiver to get off the line easily?

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Like the “On the Edge” column? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show, where, this week, we will talk more about the Eagles heading into the bye week, and of course, our Philadelphia Phillies heading into the World Series!